Everyone at work was required to read Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution, though nobody had to pull my arm or anything. It's a book that has been on my list since it came out and it came highly reccomended by my wife. It messed her up in a really good way because it was one of the first books she read where a Christian talked about a new manner of living in a way that really spoke to her. She also told me that she thought I wouldn't like the book as much as she did because it wouldn't be theological enough, but in my opinion she undersold Claiborne in that regard. His discussion was a lot more theological than one might think becuase he does a good job of weaving theology and story and philosophy so that everything just flows together.

I will say that this book will either really speak to you or else it will make you mad. The more money you have the more you will probably disagree with what he's talking about. I hope some really rich people read the book and prove me wrong.

One of the was in which Irresistible really helped me out was that it demonstrated how someone can be passionately counter-cultural but do it in a really humble and non-offensive way. I never got the feeling that Claiborne was diluting his message, but at the same time he wasn't going around throwing people under the bus either. I think that when a person is really living what they talk about it's a little easier to listen to what they are talking about. It also helps that he shares a lot about the process that brought him to where he is today.

If you only have time to read some of the book, then I suggest chapters 6 (Economics of Rebirth), 7 (Pledging Allegiance When Kingdoms Collide), 11 (Making Revolution Irresistable) and 12 (Growing Smaller and Smaller...Until We Take Over the World). If you are really pressed for time, then read pages 159 and 163.

My final reccomendation is that if you just so happen to attend a moderately-sized suburban church that is contemplating building a new facility then you have to have to have to (not a typo) read chapter 12. It addresses issues with building larger, more expensive buildings while there are tons of needs that could be addressed with that money. The chapter doesn't just bash churches that want to build, but instead provides some creative philisophical paradigms that can help churches do what they need to do while still being faithful with their money. As someone who was in on conversations about building and who was enthusiastic about it, this chapter really challenged me to ask questions before buying into any kind of building campaign.

Now lest you think I take myself too seriously, please note that I am currently listening to a couple of songs from High School Musical that have been stuck in my head for the better part of two days. Sometimes I'm just not that cool.

Fair Dinkum